Shepherdsville business said to be target of hate crime will close

LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) — The Iraqi-owned business that police say was the target of a hate crime will not reopen. The business manager for Jacob’s Smoke Shop says he filed paperwork with the secretary of state to officially close the business.

Vandals broke in and ripped apart the Shepherdsville store last month, spray painting “Hate Arab” and “Go Home” on the floors and walls. Community members have now posted words of encouragement on the front of the business.

Owner Ali Alboodi told them he feared for his life and was returning to Iraq. The FBI is investigating.

Figures that redneck hicks in KY would do something like that.. People need to think how they would feel if this was done to them BEFORE even thinking of doing it to someone else!!! The hicks that did that should have their home ransacked like that..See how it feels to be victimized in such a way. Who is the real terrorist?? You are you scumbag for vandalizing a store of another hard working soul… Shame on you and all that feel doing this is a good thing..

//Cindy 14 March 2012 at 8:58 am

cindy,

i wouldn’t jump to any conclusions? you ever hear of jewish lightning?

surveillance equipment missing? where did he keep his dvr? looks fishy to me. almost like the pakistani and his wife shot for being muslim. cindy do you remember how that turned out?

//mike malzahn 14 March 2012 at 9:22 am

Oooh, ooh. Move here, move here. Personally, I am a nonsmoker, but a small business like this would do very well here, either in my home of Greene County, PA…or in nearby Morgantown, WV. Morgantown has a large Islamic population, a lovely Islamic Center, and several Muslim-owned businesses, including a popular restaurant. My town of Bobtown, PA is just a twenty-minute drive from Morgantown. We have no tax base and would welcome any small business with open arms! Do come!

//Julieann Wozniak 14 March 2012 at 11:43 am

Kentucky rednecks? This blog talks about Bigots quite a bit, Cindy if your not careful you may be counted among them. Somehow I doubt that the whole truth is being told. People from all walks of life an nationalities own, run, or work in businesses in the state of Kentucky. This is the first incident like this I have heard of. It would be interesting to see if there was any warning in this mans local area of a particular hatred of Arabs. I doubt it, and I read this story and the conclsion with a grain of salt.